Rutin is a natural flavonoid used as a starting material of Troxerutin, which increases endurance of capillaries and lowers permeability of the venous blood vessel walls. A clinical study showed that treating patients with a rutin derivative, Venoruton, led to improvement of post thrombotic syndrome. See, Panminerva Medicine, 53, page 13, 2011. Another study found that rutin is one of the most effective anti-thrombosis agents. See, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122, No 6, 2012. Rutin as a starting material for pharmaceutical agents is becoming more important.
To extract and purify rutin from various plant sources, e.g., Sophora Japonica (Asia), Fava d'anta (Brazil), and Uncaria elliptica (Brazil), water and methanol solvents are typically used. Practically, however, rutin-rich extracts derived from such plant sources have significant disadvantages, such as being a dense brown color and containing a higher iron content in comparison with rutin-rich extracts from other sources. This brown color is attributed to pigments in the plant.